$500,000 pledged for YSU building

$500,000 pledged for YSU building

c_

Groundbreaking for the building is scheduled for this October.

YOUNGSTOWN —Youngstown State University graduate Jocelyne Kollay Linsalata has pledged $500,000 to help in the construction of a new building for YSU’s Williamson College of Business Administration.

“In the 21st century, I see Youngstown State University as the brain and the heart of the Mahoning Valley,” said Linsalata, who lives in Gates Mills, Ohio, and is an active participant in the medical and education communities in Cleveland.

In recognition of the gift, YSU will name the Gallery in the new business building in Linsalata’s honor.

“Jocelyne is the perfect example of how YSU alumni make a difference not only at the university but within their own communities as well,” YSU President David C. Sweet said. “We thank Jocelyne for her continued support.”

The gift is part of the $43 million YSU Centennial Capital Campaign, the largest fund-raising effort in the university’s history. The new building for the Williamson College of Business Administration is a major part of the campaign.

With Linsalata’s gift, the campaign total to date is $41.6 million, with about 18 months remaining in the campaign.

Linsalata is a graduate of Chaney High School in Youngstown, where she has endowed a scholarship for first-generation college students. She enrolled at YSU and earned a bachelor’s degree in 1974 and master’s degree in business administration in 1980.

Linsalata has remained active at YSU as a member of the Centennial Capital Campaign Cabinet, President’s Council and the Board of Directors for the YSU Foundation. She is on the Visiting Committee of the YSU Beeghly College of Education and recently served on the Higher Education Leaders for Prosperity in Ohio.

Linsalata is co-chairwoman of the capital campaign for University Hospital’s Center for Emergency Medicine, a member of the Rainbow Babies Children’s National Leadership Council and a past vice president of the Cleveland Area Alzheimer’s Association.

Ground will be broken in October for the new business school facility to be located at the corner of Rayen Avenue and Phelps Street. The building, with a price of about $34 million, is to be completed by June 2010.